Tension tension

[Acorn]

Well, I've done another square using 6mm needles (on the basis that if the required tension is between the two I'll go down to 5.5mm), washed both squares, and am waiting for them to dry.

As I want to make the jacket a little bigger than the biggest size on the pattern (why do books of patterns so often give such limited sizes??) I may decide to use the 6mm needles even if the tension is looser than required - the knitting has come out quite nicely with both squares.  It would be easier than trying to factor in extra pattern repeats.

[Acorn]

Well how about that!  The washed and dried tension square on 6mm needles has come out as 16sts and 22 rows to 4"!!!  I think I will order my yarn (when I've worked out how much more I will need to make it longer and a little wider...)

...The tension given in the pattern for a 4" (10cm) tension square is 16st and 22 rows on 5mm needles...

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Would it really annoy you if I said I've just done a tension swatch on the knitting machine in a couple of minutes? 

I've found this lot of the same brand as before but a different colour is coming out wider, it's surprising how yarns can vary even when they are supposedly the same.

[Acorn]

Yes it would!     Well, not really - it would take me a lot longer to do it on a knitting machine, since I would have no idea what I was doing!

It will be very interesting to see what difference there is with the real yarn - the one I used is quite bouncy, and I suspect the one I'm buying will be less so.

[Celia]

Well done

[BrendaP]

I've found this lot of the same brand as before but a different colour is coming out wider, it's surprising how yarns can vary even when they are supposedly the same.

Different dyes on the same base yarn can make a big difference sometimes.  White is often thinner; colour bleached out rather than colour added.